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A02730
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The tragicall life and death of Muley Abdala Melek the late King of Barbarie With a proposition, or petition to all Christian princes, annexed therevnto: VVritten by a gentleman imployed into those parts.
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Harrison, John, fl. 1610-1638.
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1633
(1633)
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STC 12860; ESTC S116606
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16,742
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32
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Alkaid to be drubbed againe for not holding his stirrop He run a mans thigh thorovv vvith his launce to the saddle and after because he vvas not able to ride after him a pace giue him tvvo or three hundreth blovves VVould vvith his sword cut and flash men for his pleasure and after himself giue them plaisters to cure them VVould cast men to the lions to be devoured an other of his torments To one among the rest he promised that if he vvould fight vvith them and could escape he should be perdoned vvhich he did manfullie as I vvas told beating them from him either vvith stones or som such meanes clearing himself yet afâ—er vvas put to death Some he caused to be rastrar'd or dragged by the feete at the horse heeles their back and head against the stones as he did the Hacam of Morocco the chieffe officer of that citie round about his Almahalla or camp till he died Others iointed their fingers and toes first cut of by euerie jointe armes and legs so head and all An other hanged vp by the priuie members one caused to sit vpon him to vveigh him dovvne and vet the man liuing Another a hole digged in the ground set in the earth vp to the head as Schollers in some places use to shoote at the cock at Shrouetyde so did he cause the captiues vvith their peeces to shoote at this poore mans head They all missing he himself came neere vvith his ovvne peece and shot him calling him a deuill because they all missed him He cut of a Moores head a church man or Sexton for crying on the church tovver or steeple and cursing all that did drinke vvine forbidden by their lavve An other also for crying and singing more then vsuall For the Moores haue noe bels but in steed thereof these cryers to call them to their devotions in the name of God one God the great God and his Prophet Mahomet the Messenger of God Some say this mad King did once threaten that he vvould haue one of the Friars French or Spanish to sing masse before him vvhich I thinke vvould haue pleased him little better He caused a French captiue to turne Moore and be cut that is made an eunuch onlie for extolling the King of France to be one of the greatest Monarches of the vvorld An other vvho kept his horse neuer vvithout slashes and vvounds An other Frenchmans doublet vvith a paire of sizers did he cut all ouer in slashes vvith his ovvne hands saying he vvas novv a right French Cavallero like to the rest If in his drunken humor abroad in the fields as he vvas seldome sober he did fall from his horse all his Alkaidâ— and seruants must doe the like and lie dovvne and doe as he did Much like the catching of the dotterill and not offer to rise or get on horseback till he did nor to hold his stirrop or come neare him all the vvhile if they did he vvould giue them blovves One of his Alkaids for some such like offence caused he to sit 24. houres on he top of his tent in the Almahalla as it vvere on the pillorie for all men to gaze vpon And novv and then vvould he giue them a pill called Shishai the effect vvhereof is to make men merie drunke to make himself sport But indeed his onlie sport vvas in cutting of mens heads and as before in shedding and seeing of blood No one day escaped but one or other sacrificed in most bloodie manner to this vnsatiable deuill and she deuill together if that opinion of the Moores be true as before On a time the Christian captiues at Saffia the port town had laid a plot to breake the prison and escape by sea in a boate but in the acting thereof vvere discouered all taken and beaten in most pitifull maner to make them confesse the Authors most of them Spaniards and French the chieffe plotter a Spaniard as it seemeth of some account called Don Pedro vvho vvas sent for to the King then in his Almahalla vvho therevpon called all the English and others to kneele before him setting the Spaniard also right before him Then said to the English youe see this mis beliuer that vvould haue run avvaie if any of youe be like minded run sure and cleare avvaie othervvise if youe be taken see here your doome Then caused he first the Spaniards eares to be cut of one after an other then his nose then his lippes one after an other then his mouth on both sides slit vp to the eares then his fingers disiointed one from an other vvhich don the King fell a laughing ha ha ha Then said the Spaniard to him hauing all this while looked him in the face indured it verie manfullie novv Tyrant doe thy vvorst vvherevpon presentlie he cut of his head So dyed this valiant champion euen in death triumphing ouer his tyrannicall tormentors An other time a Moore being brought before him for some misdemeanor fearing death said vnto him Muley I haue liued all the daies of my life hitherto a Christian if thou vvilt novv pardon me I vvill turne true Moore againe His meaning vvas that he had liued a vvicked and levvd life as many Christians haue don and doe both in that and other countries I speake it to their shame vvhereby the name of Christ his religion is scandalized and blasphaemed but yet notvvithstanding that his confession that he had liued a Christian and profession to turne Moore againe that is to say to lead a godly life vvas executed For vvith this King there vvas no respect of persons or religions or occasions great or small Sins veniall or mortall all one that is to say mortall Occasions nay oft times vvithout any occasion at all but onlie as he met vvith any by accident in his drunken and deuilish humor vvould try as before vpon his ovvne vvomen the strength of his arme and goodnes of his svvord and chiefflie vpon his ovvne nation vvithout respect of persons he had no minions or favorits at all one good propertie in him VVhat shall I say But as an Alkaid telling me of these and other his mad and tragicall acts exclaimed a deuill a deuill His Alcasava or court the verie picture of hell vvhich made the greater and better forte to flee away into the mountaines or stand vpon their guard a far of like those vvylie foxes in AEsop seeing all foote steps going forvvard into the lions den but fevv or none retrorsum back againe And those that did hovvling and crying vveeping and vvayling sighing and vvringing their hands either for themselues or their friends This vvas the dailie and dolefull musick both vvithin and vvithout the verie gates of hell Friends nay rather fiends daylie tormenting one an other For so vvould he commaund his Alkaids and servants to drub one an other at his pleasure cut of one an others heads too He vvould commonlie say in a iesting maner that it seemed to him whensoeuer he
his Almahalla hauing been all the daie abroad drinking as he vsed and coming riding in late at night vpon the spur as he passed by the ordnance vvhereof the English had the chardge he commaunded on the sodaine svvearing a great English oath giue fire vvhich they presentlie did they durst doe no othervvise so shot avvaie his ovvne vncle being in companie vvith him all to peeces His yongest brother yea and his ovvne yong sonne sometimes vvould he hang vp by the legs and beate them vvith his ovvne hands No merveile then if he vvere cruell to others being so vnnaturall to his owne flesh and blood Euerie daie must see blood blood shed vvere it but of a hen els not satisfied Possessed as some of the Moores haue told me manie are that he vvas vvith a she deuill frequent amongst them as it seemeth amongst the heathen in times past vvhereof a heathen philosopher writeth a set treatise of Incubus and succubus And the partie vvho told me this said that one daie going a hawking hauing other Moores vvith him one follovving a good distance in the high vvaie on a sodaine stood still and not long after they savv a smoake arise in the same place vvhereat they vvondered vvent back finding the man much amazed Asking the reason he said a vvoman met him there verie faire in good attyre vvho offered herself to be his wife he ansvvered he had one alreadie she replyed he might take an other for so the Moores may by their lavv being verie importunate vvith him at length looking dovvnevvards perceiued her clubbed feet vvhat she vvas wherevpon he vvent back and absolutly refused and therevpon she vanished in that maner in a great snuffe The man presently therevpon falling sick and so continued a good vvhile Hovv true this is I can not say but vvas reported to me verie seriously and for a certaintie But of this I am sure that the deuill can transforme himself into an Angel of light much more take vpon him the shape of a man or a vvoman as God permitteth to delude those that obey not the truth And this likevvise I knovve to be true and certaine that he is both a lyer the Father of lyes and a murderer from the beginning euer a thirst and neuer satisfied vvith blood And therefore no merveile if this tyrant vvere so possessed as before that euerie daie he must see blood els not satisfied And if euery day hovv much blood may be thought he shed in that time of his life raigne Sometimes he vvould cut of mens heads vvith his ovvne hands and vvith his ovvne sharp svvord saying those vvhom he commaunded did not cut them of vvell and at once vvhich don vvould aske one of the Englishmen if it vvere not vvell done he must say yea Muley Yea six or seauen mens heads in one day Once by euermuch drinking distempered in his bodie hauing his armes and hands benummed his Doctor persvvaded him to enter into a bath After his bathing meeting vvith one of his concubines drevv out his svvord and cut of her head to trie the strength of his arme if it vvere sound againe Also an other for going out of her bite or chamber to the next doore to one of her fellovves for the Moores are iealous euen of their vvomen and vvill not suffer them to companie together Made one man stand still vvhile he threvv stones at his face threatning if he offered to stir or moue he vvould cut of his head So likevvise abroad in the fields ofttimes vvould cause some one of his seruants to lie dovvne grovelling sit vpon him in steed of a stoole a vvhole night together drinking and the man durst not for his life stir And some to stand by him vvhole daies and nights vvithout moouing hand or foote othervvise vvould haue cut of their heads VVould cause men to be drubbed or beaten almost to death in his presence vvhich vvas but a common gentle correction fiue or six hundreth blovves at once and after they must kisse the ground giue him thanks To whom in this particular others likevvise I may paralel a great Lord in this part of the vvorld vvho hauing slaine an other in a privat duell and vpon iust occasion offered taxed by one to vvhom he had don vvrong disgracing disabling him and that in an open assemblie displacing him too and therefore had the partie reason there also to right himself and reply par pari referre and disable him likevvise for shedding of blood vvhich by the Lavv of God is murder caused the partie to be committed to prison closse prisoner at the first and there kept and fed vvith the bread of affliction till in the end he vvas forced his imprisonment and punishment both of bodie and purse besides the disgrace no sufficient satisfaction to kisse the ground that is make an humble submission and subscribe that he had offended and abused his Lordship vvith opprobrious and vnciuill language c. that is to say that the Lavv of God is an opprobrious vnciuill language vvhich saith He that smiteth an other vvith an instrument of yron that he dy is a murderer c. vvhich submission he novv vtterly disclaimeth as most blasphaemous against God his Lavv don of infirmity and by dares of imprisonment hauing no meanes at all to maintaine himself any longer in prison but there to starve praying God to forgiue him and them likevvise vvho imposed it To vvhom euen to that great God that great Lord ought rather to make submission for violating his holie Lavv as David did a King and vvas not ashamed I haue sinned c. yea and after fell to the ground and kissed the ground vvith manie teares Therefore is he a saint in heauen and Muley Abdala Melek and all such bloodie tyrants murderers vvithout repentance deuills in hell For Topheth is praepared of old euen for Kings and Lords too if they repent not For vvith God there is no respect of persons Nor vvas vvith this King Muley Abdala Melek in the cruell course of his tyrannie vvherevnto all both great and small vvere subject Yea he vvould cause some to be beaten on the soles of their feet and after make them run vp and dovvne among the stones and thornes And so also vsed some that vvere lame hurt pulling of there shooes making them run barefooted in such places or els vvould cut of their heads Did cause one of his Alkaids his chieffe falconer to be drubbed and beaten manie hundreth blovves on the buttocks as himself told me and after forced him to ride in that painfull maner after him a havvking Also the same Alkaid told me that the girth of his sadle being broken and he allighted an other Alkaid comming to help him and holding his stirrop the King called that Alkaid to him and caused him to be drubbed for holding his stirrop and not long after the like occasion falling out againe caused the same